Scruffs' Forgotten
Here is a new series I have formed. It is kinda' confusing at first, but it'll get better. Most of this story happened during Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf's apprenticeship, during Dark River. OK. Hope you like it!! Rainfire 18:43, April 18, 2010 (UTC) -Prologue- *When the Clans had first formed* "Thunderstar! I have something to add to the Warrior Code!" Blackscruff yowled up to me. The Clans were at a Gathering. As leader of ThunderClan, I sat upon Great Rock in the middle of Fourtrees. "Blackscruff, you are a warrior and have no place to speak here. You can talk to me about this later," I told her calmly. She took a step forward and hissed. "No! I must speak now!" she yowled up at me. "Thunderstar, can you not control your warrior?" Windstar asked me coldly. My fur bristled. "No, let her speak," Riverstar said curiously. I nodded to Blackscruff. She was a white she-cat with black paws and brown eyes. She was abnormal because her scruff, the fur around her neck, was black. "Since my family will not get the recognition it deserves, I want a hidden part added to the Warrior code!" she said loudly. "Your family? You have no kits! You are the only 'scruff'!" Shadowstar scoffed. "I am expecting kits. I guarantee I will not be the last 'scruff'. I have helped all the Clans in their time of need and deserve what I am asking!" she snarled. "What is this addition to the code?" I asked. "All cats that have a scruff that is a different color than the rest of their fur have 'scruff' at the end of their Warrior name," she stated. The moon still shone brightly. StarClan approved. "Why?" Shadowstar asked. "To remind the Clans of the debt they owe!" she yowled. Blackscruff was the fiercest, most respected cat in all the Clans. "Fine. This will be passed down from leader to deputy in all of the Clans," I said. It was made official... *A moon after the Clans moved to the lake territories (Set during Starlight)* TC- Mousefur: I've been thinking... SC- Boulder: What an accomplishment. WC- Morningflower: Hush, Boulder. What about, Mousefur? TC- Mousefur: There hasn't been a 'scruff' since Pinestar's reign. WC- Rushtail: Ah. I had almost forgotten them. TC- Longtail: I wonder what happened. SC- Boulder: Good riddence. TC- Goldenflower: It's probably for the best. WC- Morningflower: I think having a 'scruff' around would be interesting. TC- Longtail: It probably would be. SC- Runningnose: Just wait. The next 'scruff' will end up in ThunderClan. WC- Rushtail: No doubt. TC- Goldenflower: True, true. The 'scruffs' did start out in ThunderClan. SC- Runningnose: But then again, the 'scruffs' did end up in every Clan, StarCan willing. SC- Boulder: They will come back. TC- Longtail: That poor cat... *Moons later, during Lionpaw's, Jaypaw's, and Hollypaw's apprenticeship (Set during Dark River)* "Firestar. You must see this," Dustpelt panted. I followed him to the nursery. I had already seen two of his most recent kits, Foxkit and Icekit. We walked in. Fercloud lay, purring sleepily, with her three kits. "Look," Dustpelt said and pointed his tail at a black she-kit. She had white paws, and a white scruff. "A 'scruff'," I murmured. "Cats had better treat my daughter right," Ferncloud said. "They will. What did you name her?" I asked. "Whitekit," she answered. "Be proud, Dustpelt. You will have a great daughter," I said and dipped my head to the two cats before leaving. Chapter 1 I sat outside and watched my siblings, Foxkit and Icekit, wrestle. I wasn't in the mood for playing. I almost never was. I just like to sit and cat watch. I learn a lot about my Clanmates that way. Like how Lionpaw subconciously flicks his tail every time he enters camp and how Berrypaw stares at Honeypaw. I noticed that Leafpool is very protective of Lionpaw, Jaypaw, and Hollypaw. Jaypaw. I'm always curious about him. He always knows where cats are and it's like he can sense your feelings. There is one thing about all of the Warriors that I don't understand. They stare at me as if they are waiting for me to do something. I don't know why. I think I am going to ask the elders about it. I love listening to them babble. I turned to find my mother watching me. "Mom, can I go talk with the elders?" I asked. "Sure, Whitekit. Bring them something to eat while your at it," she said. I nodded and walked to the fresh-kill pile. I sniffed out a nice plump mouse and pulled it out. I saw Jaypaw come out of the medicine cat den and walk towards the elder's den. "Jaypaw," I called. He turned and walked over to me, fixing his sightless eyes on me. "Yes, Whitekit?" he asked gumpily. I could understand his grumpiness. I would be like that too if I couldn't see. "Could you help me bring this to the elders please?" I asked him. He nodded and picked it up. I followed him to the elder's den. He layed the mouse down and checked the elders for ticks and fleas. "Here. This is for you," I told Mousefur and Longtail. Longtail pushed it over to Mousefur. "I'm not that hungry," he told her. She ate it quickly. "That was delicious. Thank you, Whitekit," Mousefur said gratefully. She was always nice to me. "Can you tell me why cats keep staring at me?" I asked. Mousefur licked her whiskers and settled into her nest. She always does that when she was about to tell a story. "At the begining of the Clans, a cat named Blackscruff added something to the Warrior Code, which was still being formed. She was a white she-cat with black paws and brown eyes, like you," Mousefur began. "Blackscruff had-" Longtail started, but was cut off. "Longtail, I'm telling this story," Mousefur stated. I twitched my whiskers in amusement. These two elders had formed a strong bond, but they still got into scuffles. "Anyway, Blackscruff was unusual because her scruff was black. She had helped all of the Clans in there time of need, though no Clan cat can remember how. She added this to the Warrior Code: All cats who have a scruff that is a different color than their body fur must have 'scruff' at the end of their name. She had a kit that fit this description. And that kit had a kit, and so on. There was always a 'scruff' around. Some 'scruffs' ended up in the other three Clans as well. All of the 'scruffs' had done something great, but none of the Clans would admit it. During Pinestar's reign in ThunderClan, the last 'scruff' had been born. His name was Redscruff. He had no 'scruff' kits. That is where the 'scruff' lineage stopped, up until now," she told me. So that's why. All the 'scruffs' had done something great, and I was the new generation of 'scruff'. "Lucky Whitekit," Jaypaw muttered. "Oh no. She's not lucky at all. The Clans despise 'scruffs' for getting in the way. They almost always break the Warrior Code, but only if they feel it's right," Longtail stated. Mousefur nodded in agreement. "Thank you for the information," I said and dipped my head to them before leaving. I walked over to the nursery and sat down. I resumed my cat watching. Jaypaw left the elders den and grabbed some fresh-kill. I think I'll go talk to him. I walked over to him. "Hi Jaypaw," I greeted and sat down next to him. "Hi," he said and chewed his food. I watched the Clan mill about. "How do you feel when cats treat you like a kit, just because you can't see," I asked. "Angry. I'm just as good as any other cat," he growled. "Of course," I said. I watched Brambleclaw nuzzle Squirrelflight and then bound off with a patrol. "How come you don't like to play like a normal kit," Jaypaw asked me. I shrugged. "I like to watch my Clanmates. I learn alot about them, and that could help me learn who I can trust and who I can't," I said, my gaze wandering towards Ashfur. "That's good to know. How is a kit that's only five moons old get so wise?" he asked. "How does a cat that can't see know where every cat is and what there feeling?" I shot back. He twitched his whiskers. "You are going to be a good Warrior," he said and flicked me with his tail before leaving. Chapter 2 "Whitepaw, your mentor will be Graystripe," Firestar said. I touched noses with my mentor. "Foxpaw, Icepaw, Whitepaw!" the Clan cheered. "What are we going to do today?" I asked excitedly. "Let's go explore the Clan borders," he said and bounded off. I caught up with him at the camp entrance and I left the camp for the first time. We came back exausted. I had kept up with Graystripe and had laughed with him when I tripped and fell. He had a good sense of humor, and he had told me that I did too. I liked my mentor. He was easy to get along with. "Whitepaw. How was your first day as an apprentice," Jaypaw asked me when I sat next to him with a shrew. "Exausting," I panted and ate my shrew. It was delicious. I settled down next to Jaypaw. "When will you be a full medicine cat?" I asked. "I will be considered an apprentice untill Leafpool either joins StarClan or the elders' den, but I get my full name when I am a fully capable medicine cat. You'll probobly get your Warrior name before I get mine," he answered. "Oh. I already know what my Warrior name will be, so I can wait," I said. I watched as Ashfur and Brambleclaw padded coldly past each other. I stiffened at the rude greeting Ashfur gave Squirrelflight. "What," Jaypaw asked. "Just another encounter between you-know-who," I said. Jaypaw nodded. "The Gathering will be tonight," he meowed. How he knew that, I did not know. "That ought to be interesting. I heard that RiverClan was blaming WindClan for stealing fish," I commented. "Yeah. RiverClan always thinks that," Jaypaw said. "Who would want to stael their fish anyway?" I scoffed. Jaypaw snorted in agreement. "Here comes Graystripe," the gray apprentice meowed. "Firestar said that you could come to the Gathering. Both of you," Graystripe said and walked off. "Yay," Jaypaw muttered and went to find Leafpool. I sat alone, listening to the Clans talk amongst each other. No one came up to me. I felt alone, even with so many cats around me. They liked to stare at me as if I was deformed or something. A black tom came up to me. He had a russet tail-tip and blood red eyes. He smelled of WindClan. "Hi! I'm Flamingpaw," he greeted. "I'm Whitepaw," I said. "Why are you all by yourself?" he asked. "No one will talk to me," I said. "Well I am. Come and meet my brother and sisters," he said and led me over to a group of apprentices. "This is Wolfpaw, Specklepaw, and Robinpaw," Flamingpaw told me. Wolfpaw was a shaggy gray tom with ice blue eyes. Specklepaw was a white tortie she-cat with ice blue eyes and black speckles around her face. Robinpaw was a red-brown she-cat with green eyes. "This is Whitepaw," Flamingpaw told his siblings. They nodded to me. "So. How long have you been apprentices?" I asked. "About a moon. You?" Wolfpaw asked. "Since today," I told them. "Do you have any siblings?" Robinpaw asked. "Yes. Icepaw and Foxpaw," I answered. A white she-cat with ginger patches and green eyes and a russet tom with a white chest and blue-gray eyes approached us. "This is Gingerpaw and Redpaw," Flamingpaw told me. "Hi. I'm Whitepaw," I introduced myself. "Nice name. It fits you," Redpaw, the russet tom, complimented. I felt like someone was looking at me. I looked behind me to find Jaypaw staring at me, even though he couldn't see me. I turned back to the WindClan apprentices. "Who is that?" Redpaw asked. "My friend, Jaypaw," I answered. Gingerpaw snorted. "He's too much of a grump to have any friends. Plus he's blind. Why would ThunderClan let a blind cat be a medicine cat? He would give you the wrong herbs!" Gingerpaw exclaimed. I stood up and hissed at her. "ThunderClan doesn't treat cats with minor disabilities like they are just some kit! Oh, and he IS my friend and he is a better medicine cat than you could be as a Warrior!" I snarled and stalked off. In my haste, I ran into a shaggy russet she-cat. She turned and looked at me closely. I think she realized that I was mad. She wrapped her tail around me and sat down. I looked up at her, into her eyes. One was gold, the other was red. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Gingerpaw was making fun of my friend, Jaypaw," I huffed. "She gets it from her mother," the cat murmered. Two black toms approached us. They were twins with ice blue eyes. One seemed kind and friendly, the other's eyes were filled with hatred. "Shadowheart, leave," the russet she-cat ordered coldly. The hatred filled tom left, scowling. "This is Nightowl, my mate. I'm Red-eye," the russet she-cat said. "I'm Whitepaw," I told them. "Whitepaw! I'm sorry about Gingerpaw," a cat panted from behind me. I turned and saw Flamingpaw, eyes wide. "It's OK. Come sit," I said and patted my tail on the ground next to me. He sat down and the leaders called for attention. Onestar stood up. "All is well in WindClan, though we have lost Ravenflight to StarClan. She died bravely defending Flamingpaw from an unknown attacker," Onestar said solemly and dipped his head. The Clans murmured in sadness. I layed my tail on Flamingpaw's shoulder. He looked at me, eyes dull with grief. Leopardstar balanced on her branch as Onestar sat down. "The prey is running well in RiverClan. We have stepped up on border patrols," she began and glanced at Onestar. WindClan cats murmured in hostility. Leopardstar sat down. "All is well in ShadowClan," Blackstar said briefly. Firestar stood up slowly. He gazed around the clearing. His gaze rested on me. "The 'scruffs' have returned," he said. The cats turned and stared at me. I kept my head up and met their stares evenly. They turned back to Firestar. "ThunderClan has three new apprentices. Foxpaw, Icepaw, and Whitepaw," Firestar finished and sat down. Cats grunted in reply. Leopardstar stood up. "Get rid of her," she growled. Firestar and Blackstar jumped up. "What?! No!" Firestar snarled. "Yes, Firestar! The 'scruffs' only cause trouble!" Blackstar hissed. RiverClan and ShadowClan cats began slinking toward me, eyes and claws glinting. Onestar leaped off of his branch and ran towad me. He stopped in front of me and whirled around hissing. "WindClan! To me!" he yowled. WindClan and ThunderClan gathered around me, claws unsheathed. "You will NOT touch Whitepaw!" Flamingpaw snarled. "Stop! The moon!" a medicine cat yowled. Clouds were about to cover the moon. "This Gathering is over!" Firestar yowled. WindClan and ThunderClan left together. "This will not be forgotten! We will fight!" Leopardstar yowled. WindClan walked ThunderClan to the ThunderClan territory. ThunderClan trecked over the border and faced WindClan. "Thank you Onestar. ThunderClan is grateful," Firestar said and dipped his head. "ShadowClan and RiverClan don't realize that Whitepaw is a blessing, not a curse. WindClan will fight beside you, as temporary allies," Onestar said. Firestar flicked his tail. "Thank you. Goodbye Onestar," Firestar said and turned in the direction of camp. ThunderClan followed him and WindClan headed towards their camp. Flamingpaw and I touched noses before leaving. "Stay safe," he whispered and followed Red-eye and Nightowl. Chapter 3 "Good job, Whitepaw. That was your last assesment. You will be a Warrior tonight," Graystripe meowed after I caught a squirrel. It has been moons since my first Gathering. Wolfpaw, Specklepaw, Robinpaw, Redpaw, Gingerpaw, and Flamingpaw had become Wolfpelt, Speckleface, Robinfeather, Redflame, Gingerpatch, and Flamingraven. "Go and rest. You have a vigil tonight," Graystripe ordered. I nodded and brought my catch to camp. "Whitepaw. You have learned faster than any apprentice before you. It is time for you to become a Warrior. Do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code, even at the cost of your life?" Firestar asked. "I do. You had better hold up your part of the deal, though," I joked. Firestar twitched his whiskers in amusement. "Graystripe has rubbed off on you. Whitepaw, you will now be known as Whitescruff. You will do great things," he finished and jumped off of High Rock. He place his muzzle on my head and I licked his shoulder. "Tonight you will sit your vigil," Firestar said. I moved to the center of camp and watched my Clanmates go to their dens for a good night's rest. Dawn was almost here. I couldn't wait to get some sleep. I yawned. I heard an almost unnoticable crack from outside the entrance to camp. I drew the air in with a big breath and slightly smelled RiverClan mixed with ShadowClan. I stood up hackles raised. I unsheathed my claws when I heard a faint whisper. I turned as Spiderleg left the Warrior's den. I signaled to him and he scuried over. "RiverClan and ShadowClan. Go get WindClan," I said softly. His eyes got big and he scrambled up the secret dirt-place tunnel. A cat hurtled out of the entrance towards me. I jumped out of the way and yowled the alarm. ThunderClan Warriors came streaming out of their dens and attacked the oncoming RiverClan and ShadowClan Warriors. "Surrender Firestar! You have no chance to beat us!" Leopardstar yowled. I fought against a massive black tom. I used his size against him and ran underneith him to trip him up. He fell and I clawed him fiercely. He scrambled away. "WindClan! Attack!" I heard Onestar yowl. WindClan Warriors flooded the camp. Slowly, ThunderClan and WindClan drove RiverClan and ShadowClan out of the camp. They fled to the lake and we chased them. At the lake, they turned and fought us on open ground. Another cat attacked me and I slashed her nose. She screeched and flung herself at me. A cat ramed her from the other side and helped me fight her. It was Flamingraven. "Whitepaw, are you OK?" he asked. "Yes, and I'm Whitescruff now," I panted. "Great! Now let's go kick some furry butt!" Flamingraven yowled and we rushed at the nearest ShadowClan Warrior. The battle lasted a long time. I noticed Flamingraven was bleeding heavily and was tiering out. We couldn't keep this up for long. My pelt prickled and I felt that I had to do something for my Clan. "Stop! Great StarClan, please stop!" I yowled over the fighting cats. The fighting died down and cats stopped and looked at me. Flamingraven stood next to me and a small blood droplet hit my paws. "Leave ThunderClan be. I'll leave, just stop this fighting," I said. Leopardstar, Blackstar, Firestar, and Onestar pushed through the crowd towards me. "Good, now go," Blackstar growled. "Why? Why would you do this?" Firestar asked. "Because this is about me and I don't want my Clanmates to die because of it," I said. "Is there any way we can dissuade you?" Onestar asked. Leopardstar and Blackstar started growling. "No. I have to go," I said and started to pad away. Cats moved out of my way as I crossed my former territory. I was headed for the nearest twoleg place. I could easily find food there. A cat bit down softly on my tail. I turned and found myself staring into Flamingraven and Jaypaw's eyes. "Don't go. You're the only friend I have," Jaypaw said. Flamingraven let go of my tail. "Please. You can't leave me," Flamingraven whispered. "I'm not going to let you two die because of me. I must go. Don't make this any worse than it has to be," I meowed softly and started walking again. I walked and walked until my paws were sore. I found the twoleg place and rested in a box. I dozed and waited for morning to come. Chapter 4 My fur felt unkempt. After leaving my Clan for a moon, I no longer felt that I had to clean myself. The only thing that mattered was food and defending my shelter. My shelter is not even worth being called a shelter. It's just a hollow undernieth a dumpster in an ally. It's all I have, though. I stretched and walked over to a puddle for a drink. It had been drizzling for a while. I lapped up the water and shuddered at the taste. I caught sight of my reflection and was startled at what I saw. My white scruff had been covered up my dirt and mud. You couldn't even tell it was white. I looked away before I could feel any sorrow. I hoped onto the brick fence behind my dumpster. I sat and watched the monsters speed by. On the far side of the twoleg place, almost too small to see, was a cat on a second story window ledge. Something soft sounding and invisable drifted out of the window. The cat opened its mouth and yowled, but it wasn't a ferocious yowl. It had a tone to it, and the tone changed with every word it said. Curiousity got the better of me. I jumped down and crossed the Thunderpath. I trotted along untill I was undernieth the ledge. I sat down and craned my neck to see the cat. It was a pale gray tom. His fur was very glossy and smooth. He had his eyes closed and his head slightly lifted toward the sky. As the soft sounding thing that was coming out of the window slowed down and became erie, he started his yowling, but it was softer and in sad tones. "I walk the city lonely, memories that haunt are passin' by, a murderer walks your streets tonight. Forgive me for my crimes. Don't forget that I was, so, young, fought, so, scared, in the name, of God, and country," ''he said in those soft tones. He bowed his head and the soft thing faded. "Hello," I called softly. He opened his eyes and looked over the ledge. He had stormy gray eyes. He took one look at me and scuried back inside. I felt a jolt of sadness. I was only being friendly, but I had scared him off. I sighed and was about to leave, when it started to rain. I dove into a box and waited the storm out. The storm stopped in the morning. I was shivering with cold. I heard the window open and watched the gray tom walk to the ledge and sit down. Something strange sounding floated out of the window. The tom had an amused and crazed look on his face. ''"Before the story begins, is it such a sin, for me to take what's mine, until the end of time?! We were more than friends, before the story ends, and I will atke what's mine, a feat that God could never design! Our love had been so strong for far to long. I was weak with fear that something would go wrong. Before the possibilities came true, I took a possibility from you. ''Almost laughed myself to tears, conjouring her deepest fears!" ''he said and stood up. ''" Must have stabbed her fifty f****ing times! I can't believe it! Ripped her heart out right before her eyes! Life's over easy! Eat it! Eat it!! Eat it!!!" ''he yowled feircely in strange tones. I groomed myself and enjoyed the show. I made sure to clean my scruff realy well. I stood up and stretched. The sounds stopped and so did he. "Hello again," I called. He looked down at me. "You clean up well," he said. "I guess. What were you doing?" I asked. He looked at me, confused. "You know, with the sounds and stuff," I said. "Oh that? I was singing," he said. "Singing?" I asked. "Yes. All cats can do it, but some sound better than others, and cats don't really realize that they can," he explained. "Oh. I'm White-" I began and paused. Did I really want to use my Clan name? I quickly thought of a new one. "I prefer to go by Burn," I told him. "So you have another name?" he asked. "Yes, but I'm not going to use it," I said. "Oh. I'm Glass," he said and leaped off of the ledge. He looked at me and leaped onto a wall. "Come on. I have some friends for you to meet," he said and ran across the wall and into a yard. I followed him. He led me to a small house with two sleeping toms. One was a dark brown tom with a graying muzzle, the other was brown tabby tom. They had no tails. The dark tom lifted his head. He had green eyes. The tabby tom opened his eyes and I saw that they were amber. "This is Mud," Glass said and pointed his tail at the green-eyed tom. "And this is Fudge," Glass said and motioned to the amber-eyed tom. "I'm Whi- Burn," I corrected myself. A gold she-cat with a white chest and deep blue eyes jumped up on the fence surrounding the yard. Glass glanced at her and rolled his eyes. "That's Honey. She can be very annoying," Glass whispered to me. I purred and remembered Berrypaw. Honey jumped off of the fence and walked up to me, a flicker of jelousy was in her eyes. "Hello Glass. Who is this?" Honey asked. "This is Burn," Glass said. I nodded to Honey. She sniffed and sat down. I looked around at these cats and noticed how lean they were for kittypets. Fudge looked up and nudged Mud. Mud hissed and I looked behind me. A black tom with a russet tail-tip was perched on their fence. His blood red eyes were dull and his fur was messy. "Get out of here! I told you we don't know where White-what's-it is!" Fudge snarled. The tom look familiar. The tom took no heed of what Fudge said and stared at me. "Who are you?" I asked. He hesitated. "I'm Flamingraven. Who are you?" he asked. "I like to go by Burn," I said. He looked me over. "You are a lot skinnier than I remember. Jayfeather wonders what happened to you," Flamingraven said. He looked so familiar. Then it hit me. "Flamingraven! What are you doing out of WindClan?!" I asked. He jumped off the fence and sprinted to me. "I had to find you! Please come back home!" he pleaded. I had an idea, but I would need more cats and StarClan's approval. "Flamingraven, let's go talk," I said and we padded away from the kittypets to talk alone. I told him my idea and he listened thoughtfully. "What do you think?" I asked. He thought about it. "I would join you," he said. I felt a happiness that I hadn't felt in a long time. We walked to the kittypets and I told them my plan. "We are going to need alot of cats and I wanted you four to join us," I said. They looked at each other. Fudge, Mud, and Honey nodded. "We'll join you," Glass said. A/N So what do you think? I think you have already guessed what's going to happen. Keep a look out for the next book: Scruffs' Betrayed. If you want to add a character, go to the blog: Hey Y'all! I need alot of names! Category:Fan Fictions